Opinion: A sorry strategy

by Mark Taylor, Brand Republic 01-Dec-08, 10:45

Amidst the financial turmoil and with the British economy on the brink of recession and government bailouts on their way, Sir Tom McKillop, Chairman of beleaguered bank RBS, made a very public apology about the bank's financial situation in an attempt to restore confidence.

Research by McCann Erickson earlier this week revealed that 25% of the UK public have no trust in banks with a further 50% claiming they had little trust.

In the wake of the economic crisis, bank brands have suffered a huge loss of trust among consumers as we've witnessed those institutions charged with looking after our money and assets, morph into needy recipients of government hand outs.

Following in the footsteps of Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley, the Royal Bank of Scotland is on the cusp of receiving a £20bn government bailout.

Sir Tom McKillop, chairman of the troubled bank, has now said he is "profoundly sorry" for the Royal Bank of Scotland's woes, in an instant seemingly taking personal responsibility for the group.

Brands are anticipation machines in the mind of the consumer, based on the belief that what is promised, will be delivered.

So was McKillop's apology the right thing to do for the RBS brand and will it do anything to restore confidence and build trust for RBS and the wider financial services sector?

Saying sorry is certainly a positive personal characteristic. It shows humanity and likeness to the rest of us, who also make mistakes. In the banking sector however, it is unusual -- distance and unaccountability are more the accepted norm.

McKillop's apology is likely to regenerate some trust in the RBS brand, particularly as many of its peers have not said sorry or shown any accountability for the situation we find ourselves in.

The fact that it came from the top, where the buck is supposed to stop is an important issue too. It allows people a "scalp" and a scapegoat to focus on.

The buck might just stop with McKillop and prevent leakage into the business and therefore further contamination of the brand.

But is the apology enough? Shouldn't Sir Tom go one further and stand down?

The downside of saying sorry is that you admit guilt and if you're the only ones doing it, you might appear like the only one to blame. In this case, it's clear everyone is both a perpetrator and victim of the broader market meltdown.

So maybe saying sorry was the right thing to do to restore a degree of trust for the RBS brand. But will we see personal apologies adopted as a core practice of brand building? That, I am less sure of. Sorry.

Mark Taylor, Chief Creative Strategist, Libertine.